My Gmail account keeps spitting out invites. o_O I've given out 6 of the damn things so far and I came to work this morning to find it had spawned another 6. And I'm running out of people I see every day who might want a Gmail invite.

So... anybody want a Gmail invite? Drop a comment on this post, leaving your email address. First come first served, and people I actually know have precedence over people I've never seen before.

...and I'm feeling a little sad. Never would've thought this would happen before I came here, but I really don't want to leave... had quite a lot of fun here, even working stupid hours and with basically no free time (see Edinburgh? well it's rainy and historical-y, but that's pretty much all I saw of the place). And I'll miss being with my friend (even though I still have no idea how he can put up with me). Even though I am looking forward to going back home, for proper food and my own bed and my books and my cats and everything... I still don't really want to leave.

- To carry filled-to-the-brim drinks out of a busy bar, through a huge queue, down some stairs, around chairs and fans, down to the office without spilling a drop. Not easy, let me tell you.
- To find amusement in the smallest things. ("Dear Not Specified [my name]"...[1])
- That there's no such thing as too much pizza.
- That food doesn't usually come with a side-order of guilt.
- That somebody should start marketing GuiltBGone and GuttermindBGone.
- That hugs make everything better.

[1] Ordered my iPod a few days ago, finally. The order page asked me for a title, and since I'm neither Mr. nor Mrs., I opted for the Not Specified option. Next thing I know, I'm laughing at an order acknowledgement email starting with "Dear Not Specified [my name]".

You know you work stupid hours when:
- Upon reaching the door of your apartment complex in daylight (happened one day... nothing to do so we left early), you do a doubletake at it because the color is not familiar at all, and you have to check the house number to confirm that it is, indeed, the right door. ("Ohhh, so that's what that color looks like in daylight...")
- You rarely ever see your flatmates.
- When you do see them, conversations like this ensue:
"So when do you work tomorrow? Morning, afternoon or evening?"
"Er... morning, afternoon and evening..."
"(visibly cringing) Ah... ok... we'll do our best to be quiet when coming back home from drinking tonight."
(Actually happened. She looked so sympathetic and sorry for me I didn't have the courage to tell her "actually, I kinda enjoy it"...)
- Your plans to cook yourself semi-decent food at the apartment, at least for dinner, went right out of the window.

Went wandering around a couple bookstores a few days ago...
- "Harry Potter - now for adults!" I can't remember the exact wording of the sign that advertised the Harry Potter books with the "I'm a grownup book, honest" covers, but it was something like that. All I could think was, "Yeah, with all the stuff that was written for kids removed! Enjoy the books like they were really written!"
- Wandered through the poetry section, picked up a translation of Dante's Divina Commedia, out of sheer curiosity. Looked at the back cover, they'd quoted the last three verses of the poem on the back. My first thought was, "aw, they've spoiled the ending". *rolls eyes at self*
- Wandered through the languages section, was drawn by the shelves labelled "Latin" and "Greek" - only to discover "Latin for dummies". *headshelf* (I was tempted to buy it, actually, if only for the curiosity factor... but I really have better things to spend my money on.)
- Science fiction section... "The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth For Dummies". *headshelf* And they mispelled "Silmarillion". *headshelf* *headshelf* *headshelf*
- I will not buy the £50 edition of LotR with illustrations by Alan Lee, it's expensive and heavy (creating problems bringing it home) and just eye-candy since I already have the paperback... I will not buy it... I will not be tempted... *drools* I waaaaaaaaaaaant.

And finally, something that just happened a hour or so ago:
Lady, has nobody ever told you that going "hellooooooooooo?!" to get people's attention is rude? And please, don't look offended when I say I'm not Client Services, so I really can't help you. It's the truth. I'm IT. I have no clue about anything related to Client Services. I'm sitting in a completely different office with my back to the corridor, for fuck's sake. (I want a door, why can't we have a door? *whine*)

Because I was asked to make a list...

General
- Box office critters are not hired for their brains. They have, in fact, one brain shared between all of them. Slightly worn. Most of the time they forget it at home.
- Marketing? Shared braincell. Brand new, never used.

Computers
- In most people's opinion, "female" and "knowledgeable in computer-related matters" are mutually exclusive. Come on, people. Just because I've got a different set of reproductive organs than you do, it doesn't mean I'm tech dumb. This is especially true if you need to ask me for help because you can't find the power button on the computer.
- Compact computers suck butt. Most of them need... well, I'm thinking of the 9.8 m/s² kind of acceleration, really.
- I was just reminded that the same goes for Compaq computers.
- Any manufacturer who creates a computer which will not boot from CD unless the hard disk is completely wiped needs to be taken out in the woods and shot. Thank fuck for boot disks, DOS and format c:.
(Edited to add: yes, I know about the BIOS menus. First thing I checked - I'm so used to going into BIOS and changing the boot order to CD first when I need it to start from CD, I've done it a lot of times. But when the BIOS on said computer is so shitty that it will not let you change the boot order, well then... that's a completely different matter.)
- Installing, removing and replacing hardware (network cards, videocards, soundcards, hard disks, RAM, you name it). Something to add to the "what do you mean you should do that for me, because I don't know how to do it? I did that several times this summer" pile.
- Monitors are front-heavy and a bitch to stack. I still can move them. Ditto computers, even though they're lighter and not a bitch to stack. One more for the "yup, did this all summer" pile.
- Windows installs are about as entertaining as watching paint peel. Even with a convenient floppy disk that means the install won't be asking you questions.
- Computer cases should open by removing screws, and be held closed by said screws. Any other method is stupid. Two reasons:
1. Any method that is designed to allow any random dimwit easy access to the innards of a computer, without even having to use a screwdriver, is inherently stupid.
2. Said methods are not "easy". They get stuck, they get rusted, they're a bitch to open or to close or both... It takes me five seconds to get inside a computer with a normal screw-closed case. It takes me a good five minutes of cussing to get inside a computer with one of those "easy-to-open" cases. More if it's the first time I deal with that particular kind of case. And no, it's not just me - the friend I work with, who knows far more about computer innards than I do, was equally stumped.
- Network cables will always be either way too long or way too short. Unless you make them the specific length that you need. Which brings me to my next point...
- Network cables are actually rather fun to make, after you get over the "What? You want ME to make a working network cable from this cable and these connectors?" shock. And it's a good antidote to boredom when you no longer have to refer to a written bit of paper to remember the order the wires go in. (Orange's still a bitch though. So's green. Oh, and even if white cable looks better, grey cable's far superior in the "not killing your fingers straightening wires" field. At least the one I've used.)
- ADSL connections that ticket selling is relying upon will always choose busy moments to die a fiery death. And of course, the ISDN backup connections that are supposed to automatically kick in will not automatically kick in, and you will need to run around late at night sorting things out. (Bonus points for the ADSLs dying on Friday 13th, and just when I was about to go home for the night. Thanks so much, universe.)

And now for the newest installment of...

Dearest Client Services critters:

Mmmm, popcorn. *purr*

Comments are now closed on posts that are older than 30 days. This will hopefully stop those motherfelching spammers from flooding my comments with their shit yet again. Because you know, they did it again today. Just what I needed to close the day on a happy note, eh?

[Disclaimer: I'll say this now, I'm not really as stressed as my blog entries make it look. In fact, I am having quite a lot of fun. Sometimes though, things don't go perfectly - which is when I wander to my blog to post and get rid of the minor stress caused by these so I can go back to having fun.]

Darling roommates: